CONSIDERATIONS 


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LIFE  INSURANCE. 


BY  A  LADY. 


NEW-YORK: 

PUBLISHED  BY 

0O)e  Jtlutnal  Cife  Insurance  Compang, 

TRINITY  BUILDING,  111  BROADWAY. 

1855. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1855, 

By  Frederick  S.  Winston, 

In  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New- York. 


II.  Anstice  &  Co.,  Stationers,  5  Nassau-street,  N.  Y. 


ones 


THE  MUTUAL 

Jiff  Jitmaittf  ©urnpaug 

OF  NEW- YORK. 

OFFICE,  111  BROADWAY,  TRINITY  BUILDING. 

jr* 

INCORPORATED  APRIL  13tli,  1843. 

ACCUMULATED  ASSETS,  $3,000,000. 

Amount  of  Claims  by  Death  paid  since  Organization,  over 

$  1,50®,®©©! 


BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES. 


Frederick  S.  Winston, 
Robert  H.  M’ Curdy, 
Gouverneur  M.  Wilkins. 
John  V.  L.  Pruyn, 
William  Betts, 

Isaac  G.  Pearson, 
William  Moore, 

Joseph  B.  Collins, 
Eugene  Dutilh, 

John  H.  Swift, 

George  R.  Clark, 

M.  H.  Grinnell, 

Wm.  J.  Bunker, 

John  Wadsworth, 
Jonathan  Miller, 
Abraham  Bininger, 
Nathaniel  Hayden, 
Joseph  Blunt, 


John  P.  Yelyerton, 
Sam’l  M.  Cornell, 
John  M.  Stuart, 
Hamlin  Blake, 
Alfred  Edwards, 
Lucius  Robinson, 
Richard  Patrick, 
Samuel  D.  Babcock, 
Rodman  G.  Moulton, 
Charles  J.  Stedman, 
Lycurgus  Edgerton, 
Lewis  F.  Battelle, 
Samuel  E.  Sproulls, 
Cephas  H.  Norton, 
John  P.  Treadwell, 
Ezra  Wheeler, 
William  H.  Popham, 
W.  Smith  Brown. 


FREDERICK  S.  WINSTON,  President. 
Actuary ,  Charles  Gill.  Secretary ,  Isaac  Abbatt. 
Medical  Examiner ,  Minturn  Post,  M.  D. 

General  Agent ,  Henry  H.  Hyde. 


IpZ.G'&tS 


iv 

[gF~  This  Company  is  conducted  on  the  strictly  mutual 
principle,  insuring  for  life  or  short  terms ,  at  fair  cash 
rates ,  and  with  or  without  participation  in  profits,  at 
the  option  of  the  insured.  The  Company  grants  En¬ 
dowment  Policies  and  Annuities,  at  the  most  approved 
rates ;  and  also  embraces  the  new  and  important  feature 
of  “Accumulative  or  Deposit  Policies,”  whereby  a 
fixed  sum  is  secured  absolutely  by  one  payment,  with 
power  to  increase  the  amount  from  time  to  time,  and 
permission  to  withdraw  a  proportion  of  the  deposit  on 
any  emergency. 

FINANCIAL  VALUE  OF  POLICIES. 

On  each  Policy  for  the  full  term  of  life,  which  has 
run  two  years  or  more,  this  Company  will  issue,  on  ap¬ 
plication,  a  certificate  of  its  cash  value,  thus  rendering 
the  Policy  perfect  security  for  a  loan,  or  will  purchase 
the  same. 

Tables  of  rates,  and  all  necessary  information  supplied, 
on  application  to  the  chief  office,  or  to  any  of  the  Agents 
of  the  Company. 

FREDERICK  S.  WHsTSTOK,  President. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introductory .  1 

Origin  of  Life  Insurance . 2 

General  principles .  4 

Tables  of  Calculation . 4 

Manner  of  calculating  Premiums,  and  their  Value  and  Sale  5 

How  are  the  Company  benefited .  7 

Payment  of  future  Policies .  8 

Mode  of  effecting  a  Policy .  8 

System  most  practical . 9 

The  problem  of  Life  Insurance .  11 

Woman’s  Agency .  12 

Considerations .  14 

Financial  View  of  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  of 

New- York .  19 

Educational  View .  22 

Church  Influence .  23 

Further  Examples . 27 

Facts  and  Eesults .  32 

Conclusion .  34 


INTRODUCTORY.  -  • 


Solomon  has  fixed  the after ^w^dom  as 
the  greatest  glory  of  man.  One  of  the  mightiest 
streamlets  which  flow  from  the  great  reservoir  of  wis¬ 
dom  and  knowledge,  to  fit  man  for  his  high  vocation, 
is  the  institution  of  Life  Insurance.  It  presents  con-' 
siderations  of  more  palpable  practical  utility  to  man¬ 
kind,  of  more  perpetual  interest,  and  of  more  deep 
and  vast  import  to  the  welfare  of  humanity,  than  has 
arisen  from  the  mere  discovery  of  any  empire,  sect, 
or  star ;  and  had  we  a  clarion  voice  we  would  sound 
it  long  and  loud  throughout  this  broad  land,  until 
its  knowledge  and  its  influence  were  appreciated  and 
felt  by  every  interest  everywhere. 

Standing  upon  the  platform  of  Truth,  and  survey¬ 
ing  man  in  his  progress  and  destiny,  we  feel  an  espe¬ 
cial  interest  in  our  own  beloved  country  ! 

The  land  of  the  free,  the  home  of  the  Bible ;  and 
because  the  home  of  the  Bible,  the  land  of  the  free ! 
What  a  spectacle  do  we  present !  The  broad  segis  of 
the  Constitution,  unfurling  its  beautiful  banner  over 
such  an  immense  area  of  territory,  and  such  a  bright 


2  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

galaxy  of  confederated  States,  giving  to  us  in  the 
view  of  all  nations  a  charm,  which,  whilst  familiarity 
can  never  remove,  the  most  penetrating  scrutiny 
must  indubitably  enhance.  And  that  we  may  run 
our  race  with  an  increasing  celerity  and  success,  it 
behooves  us,  as  a  Christian  people,  to  cast  into  the 
bosom  of  this  Increasing  population,  the  fundamental 
principles  of  Our  happiness  and  safety,  which  are  or¬ 
dained,  settled,  and  established  upon  the  great  truths 
of  revelation. 


II. 

ORIGIN  OF  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

The  science  known  as  Life  Insurance  had  its  advent 
in  the  Old  World  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  years 
since.  It  was  devised  especially  for  the  widows  of 
clergymen,  and  for  the  settlement  of  annuities.  Its 
principles  went  into  operation  by  the  u  Mercer  Com¬ 
pany, ”  and  settled  an  amount  upon  the  widow  propor¬ 
tioned  to  that  paid  by  her  husband. 

The  succeeding  year  another,  including  an  assu¬ 
rance  for  orphans,  was  established.  But  the  first  gen¬ 
eral  office  for  perpetual  assurance  was  in  seventeen 
hundred  and  six  by  a  charter  from  Queen  Anne. 


LIFE  INSURANCE.  3 

These  in  time  were  succeeded  by  the  Royal  Exchange 
and  the  London  Assurance  Companies.  But  until  sev¬ 
enteen  hundred  and  sixty-two  there  was  no  especial 
interest  awakened  by  the  subject,  and  then  under  the 
;  specious  pretext  of  benefiting  “  old  age.’’ 

It  was,  however,  not  until  the  dawn  of  the  nine¬ 
teenth  century  that  the  science  of  Life  Insurance  had 
any  distinct  hold  on  the  popular  mind.  Since  then 
upwards  of  one  hundred  well-organized  companies 
have  sprung  into  existence  in  the  Old  World. 

In  the  establishment  of  political  rights  which  stamp¬ 
ed  its  impress  on  our  early  national  history,  and  gave 
individuality  to  character,  the  love  of  name  rather 
than  gold  retarded  the  introduction  of  this  science 
within  our  limits  ;  and  the  Hospital  Insurance  Com¬ 
pany  of  Boston,  established  thirty  years  since,  was  the 
first  practical  demonstration  of  the  system  in  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States;  the  New  York  Life  and  Trust  Company 
followed  four  years  latter  ;  but  until  eighteen  hundred 
and  forty-three  few  had  availed  themselves  of  its  ad¬ 
vantages,  when  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company 
of  New  York,  the  first  mutual  company  in  the  coun¬ 
try,  laid  the  foundation  for  its  career  of  usefulness 
and  influence,  which,  thus  far,  is  without  parallel  in 
the  annals  of  Life  Insurance  in  this  country  or  Europe. 


4 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


III. 

GENERAL  PRINCIPLES. 

Life  Insurance  is  de  facto  an  agreement  by  a  com¬ 
pany  to  consider  the  good  of  the  individual  mem¬ 
bers,  so  that  those  who  are  seeking  their  own  are  ac¬ 
tively  securing  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  others. 
The  brevity  of  life,  and  the  mutability  of  its  condition, 
seems  to  have  been  the  design  by  which  Providence 
has  brought  out,  through  the  instrumentality  of  his 
creatures,  such  counteracting  influences  as  by  pru¬ 
dence  and  ingenuity  will  confer  the  highest  moral 
benefits  on  all  conditions  of  society.  This  Life  Insu-  j 
ranee  not  only  purposes,  but  demonstrably  performs. 

The  exhibit  of  that  branch  of  science  and  associ¬ 
ation,  which  secures  a  safe  termination  to  an  uncer-  j 
tain  event,  is  thus  secured  ;  and  when  the  principles 
on  which  it  is  founded  are  rightly  estimated,  too  high  i 
an  appreciation  cannot  be  placed  upon  it,  nor  can  its 
application  be  too  widely  extended. 


IV. 

TABLES  OF  CALCULATION. 

Observations  upon  large  masses  of  society,  as  to 
the  duration  of  human  life,  constitute  the  data 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


5 


which  are  technically  termed  “  tables  of  mortality.” 
The  first  of  these  commanding  attention  for  accu¬ 
racy  and  utility,  was  framed  by  Dr.  Newman,  of 
Breslau,  Silesia,  why  gave  the  subject  unremitting 
attention  for  five  years.  This,  though  incomplete, 
furnished  a  foundation  to  Dr.  E.  Halley,  and  has 
formed  the  basis  of  subsequent  calculation,  which  the 
progress  of  science  and  the  advancement  of  learning 
have  still  further  perfected.  The  Northampton  tables, 
by  Dr.  Price,  in  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-nine, 
and  the  Carlisle  tables  of  Dr.  Heysham,  of  England, 
seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  have  been  the 
standard  guides  in  the  business.  The  most  skilful 
actuaries  in  this  country  and  in  England  have,  how¬ 
ever,  given  decided  preference  to  those  of  Carlisle; 
and  as  they  are  generally  conceded  to  afford  a  more 
reliable  estimation  of  longevity  in  this  country,  are 
adopted,  after  some  emendations,  as  the  criterion  of 
this  Company. 


y. 

MANNER  OF  CALCULATING  PREMIUMS,  AND  THEIR 
VALUE  AND  SALE. 

The  premiums  required  to  purchase  a  given  amount 
of  insurance  are  derived  from  the  tables  of  mortality 


6  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

by  strict  mathematical  calculation.  If  the  premium 
for  a  certain  age  be  known,  it  is  easy  to  compute 
the  premium  for  the  age  one  year  younger.  Thus, 
take  the  given  premium  from  ,the  amount  insured 
thereby,  multiply  the  remainder  by  the  number  living 
at  that  age  in  the  Life  Table,  and  divide  by  the  num¬ 
ber  living  at  the  age  one  year  younger ;  subtract  the 
result  from  the  amount  insured,  and  the  remainder, 
discounted  for  one  year,  will  be  the  single  premium 
for  the  next  younger  age.  Now  the  premium  at  the 
oldest  age  in  the  table  is  known,  for  it  is  the  sum  in¬ 
sured,  discounted  for  one  year ;  and  thus  the  premi¬ 
ums  for  all  ages  can  be  derived. 

It  is,  however,  sometimes  more  advisable  to  pay  the 
insurer  an  annual  sum.  Hence,  a  table  of  rates  is 
made  by  dividing  the  single  premium  for  each  age  by 
the  value  of  an  annuity  of  one  dollar  at  that  age 
increased  by  unity  ;  the  result  is  the  premium  to  be 
paid  at  the  beginning  of  every  year  during  life. 

A  Policy  yearly  becomes  more  valuable,  and  is  as¬ 
signable  property,  by  which  money  can  be  raised  by 
sale  or  by  assignment.  In  the  event  of  sale,  the  pur¬ 
chaser  becomes  responsible  for  the  future  premiums. 
But  his  advantage  lies  in  paying  a  less  premium  than 
would  have  been  required  at  the  age  of  sale.  For  ex¬ 
ample  :  a  man  of  fifty  sells  a  policy  effected  at  thirty- 
eight  ;  he  pays  only  that  of  the  latter  age,  and  thus 
avoids  the  larger  premium.  In  lieu  of  two  hundred 
_ _ _ _ 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


7 


and  thirty  dollars,  the  premium  at  fifty,  he  pays  but 
one  hundred  and  fifty -two,  a  difference  of  seventy- 
eight  dollars.  This  Company  will  also  purchase  their 
policies  after  two  annual  payments  are  made,  thus 
redeeming  from  the  insured  the  responsibility  of  the 
contract,  and  this  is  termed  a  surrender  of  the  policy. 


VI. 

HOW  ARE  THE  COMPANY  BENEFITED. 

From  the  most  delicate  investigation  of*  the  value 
of  life  and  money,  there  is  no  way  by  which  the  Com¬ 
pany  insuring  avoids  loss,  but  by  due  regard  to  the 
fundamental  laws  of  chance,  and  the  most  perfect  sys¬ 
tem  of  generalization.  Taking  the  tables  of  Carlisle, 
the  insurer  assumes  the  man  of  thirty  to  have  thirty- 
four  more  years  to  live.  The  premium  is  thus  ar¬ 
ranged.  If  the  death  occurs  earlier,  the  Company  suf¬ 
fers  loss  ;  but  if  the  business  be  so  extended  as  to  allow 
the  full  effect  of  average,  the  loss  by  premature  death 
will  always  be  counterbalanced  by  those  whose  lon¬ 
gevity  is  prolonged  beyond  the  average  of  the  calcu¬ 
lating  tables ;  and  the  large  percentage  arising  from 
accumulations  of  interest,  and  the  forfeiture  and  sur¬ 
render  of  time  policies,  are  also  auxiliary  to  this  end. 


8  LIFE  INSURANCE. 


VII. 

PAYMENT  OF  FUTURE  POLICIES. 

Policies  are,  by  the  rules  of  this  Company,  vitiated 
by  any  delay  of  payment.  This  neglect,  unless  un¬ 
der  very  extenuating  circumstances,  would  subject  the 
insured  to  a  re-examination,  when,  if  found  unsound 
in  health,  would  be  a  forfeiture  forever.  A  person, 
for  example,  is  insured  at  forty,  and  pays  $150  ;  an 
omission  at  fifty  causes  a  re-examination,  when  an 
additional  amount  of  $70  would  be  added,  making  a 
premium  of  $220,  in  lieu  of  that  required  by  ordina¬ 
ry  promptness. 


VIII. 

MODE  OF  EFFECTING-  A  POLICY. 

In  order  to  effect  an  insurance  upon  life,  it  is  re¬ 
quisite  that  the  age,  date  of  birth,  residence,  occupa¬ 
tion,  constitution,  health,  and  habits  of  the  applicant 
be  stated.  This  is  ascertained,  not  only  by  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  the  family  physician,  and  of  some  friend, 
whose  intimate  knowledge  of  the  party  entitle  them 
to  make  the  representation,  but  also  by  some  respon¬ 
sible  member  of  the  medical  faculty,  who  is  the  ex- 


LIFE  INSURANCE.  9 

amining  physician  of  this  Company  ;  and  these  requi¬ 
sitions  are  a  sine  qua  non . 


IX. 

SYSTEM  MOST  PRACTICAL. 

The  purely  mutual  cash  Life  Insurance  system 
commends  itself  as  superior  in  all  respects.  Its 
leading  feature  is  accumulation ,  which  enables  it  to 
sustain  and  perpetuate  itself,  and  pay  large  sums  in 
future  to  each  contributor.  It  is  composed  wholly  of 
persons  interested  in  its  legitimate  benefits,  which 
equally  predominate  in  every  department,  as  regards 
its  premiums,  privileges,  and  profits.  Its  first  resource 
is  from  the  premiums  of  its  first  policy  issues.  The 
party  insuring  in  this  Company  is  responsible  for  the 
amount  of  his  annual  premium,  and  for  that  only,  so 
long  as  he  may  choose  to  be  a  member,  provision  be¬ 
ing  made  for  withdrawal,  on  equitable  terms,  when 
so  proposed. 

At  stated  periods  this  Company  makes  a  mathemat¬ 
ical  valuation  of  all  policies,  and  the  surplus  is  divided 
among  all  the  members,  who  participate  in  mathe¬ 
matical  ratio.  This  accumulation  is  added  in  this 
Company  to  the  original  amount  of  policy,  to  he  paid 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


10 


when  the  policy  takes  effect ,  or  it  can  go  to  partici¬ 
pate  in  payment  of  future  premiums,  as  the  parties 
shall  agree. 

The  premiums  in  this  Company  are  received  only 
in  Cash,  and  the  funds  are  invested  in  bonds  and 
mortgages  on  real  estate,  worth  in  all  cases  double 
the  amount  loaned. 

It  preserves  in  its  charter  the  great  vital  prin¬ 
ciples,  to  which  the  success  of  the  best  English  com¬ 
panies  is  attributable,  viz.,  the  cash  principle,  and  the 
retaining  of  dividends  until  the  death  of  the  assured. 
Thus  the  compounding  of  profit  upon  profit  is  se¬ 
cured.  For  example  :  a  person  at  twenty-five  years 
of  age  takes  a  policy  in  this  office  for  $5000,  for 
which  he  pays  the  annual  premium  of  one  hundred 
dollars.  In  thirty  years  he  will  have  paid  at  this  rate 
three  thousand  dollars.  Now  these  one  hundred  dol¬ 
lars  have  been  accumulating  to  his  credit  at  the  rate 
of  six  and  a  half  or  seven  per  cent.,  compound  inter¬ 
est,  and  in  many  cases  will  very  greatly  enhance  the 
amount  of  the  Policy. 

Stock  companies,  on  the  contrary,  are  confessedly 
designed  for  the  paramount  benefit  of  the  stockholder , 
and  guarantee  only  the  amount  of  policy,  without 
parti cipating  in  its  profits. 


! 


LIFE  INSURANCE.  11 

X. 

THE  PROBLEM  OF  LIFE  ASSURANCE. 

Ignorance  and  superstition  have  receded  as  science 
advanced  in  its  conquests,  until  what  is  termed  chance 
10  longer  looks  capricious  or  wicked.  Inorganic  mat- 
:er  has  laws  imposed  by  the  All-Ruling  Spirit  of  the 
Universe,  and  equally  unalterable  with  those  enun¬ 
ciated  by  Holy  Writ.  Organic  matter,  also  has  its 
aws — to  investigate  which  is  the  province  of  human 
’eason. 

Man  in  his  individual  life  is  uncertain  and  enigmat- 
cal,  but  in  the  mass  he  is  a  mathematical  problem. 
This  is  true  of  actions  as  of  life.  Mental  phenomena 
ire  on  this  same  principle  mysterious  in  the  segregate 
mature ;  in  the  aggregate,  as  regular  as  natural  phe- 
lomena. 

No  one  can  determine  the  atmosphere  of  to-mor- 
■ow ;  but  the  quantity  of  rain  in  any  given  place  in 
en  or  twenty  years  is  that  of  the  same  preceding  pe- 
i°d,  and  so  on  from  the  creation  to  our  day.  So 
vhat  to  us  looks  like  chance  is  subject  to  as  unalter¬ 
able  laws  as  those  which  govern  the  material  world. 

Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  are  founded  on  this  prin- 
;iple. 

After  an  extended  observation  over  immensely 
>opulated  districts,  for  more  than  two  centuries,  it  is 


12  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

easy  to  compute,  by  mathematical  reasoning,  how 
many  of  each  given  age  will  die  in  any  one  year; 
though  of  the  life  or  health  of  the  individual  man,  no 
human  being  has  ever  assumed  to  know. 

Human  life  has  been  distinguished,  by  Divine  au¬ 
thority,  for  several  epochs  in  longevity.  From  the 
creation  to  the  flood,  the  extremest  age  in  the  race  of 
human  existence  was  seen ;  it  then  materially  dimin¬ 
ished  for  two  centuries,  when  another  change  per¬ 
ceptibly  began,  which  has  since  been  the  average: 
duration  of  man’s  probationary  state,  and  to  which! 
God  has  aflixed  this  limit  until  time  shall  be  no  more. 

Life  Assurance,  then,  rests  on  Divine  law,  as  its  only 
true  basis ;  and  the  assured,  in  so  doing,  at  once  places: 
himself  under  the  protection  of  this  law.  Hence  it 
banishes  speculation  from  society,  and  brings  all  things] 
in  subjection  to  Divine  government  and  will. 


XL 

woman’s  agency. 

To  woman,  who  in  the  main  is  the  especial  benefit 
ciary  of  Life  Insurance,  we  would  say,  if  you  are  soli 
citous  for  its  increasing  diffusion,  show  it  in  you, 
words  and  by  your  works.  This  is  a  work  on  whicl, 
you  may  gladly  smile. 


LIFE  INSURANCE.  13 

Woman’s  influence  lies  in  the  power  of  properly 
jultivated  affections.  Her  empire  is  the  heart.  Seek- 
ng  no  authority,  insisting  on  no  right,  she  for  this 
•eason  is  successful  when  the  question  is  right.  And 
wherever  the  human  mind  has  been  regenerated,  and 
mman  character  elevated,  in  each  and  all  the  true 
noral  reforms  of  the  world,  Providence  has  chosen 
ler  as  a  powerful  auxiliary.  It  is  the  wife,  the  moth¬ 
er,  the  daughter,  and  the  sister,  who  need  to  be  pro- 
ected  when  their  natural  protector  is  taken  away, 
t  is  to  these  Life  Insurance  makes  its  appeal ;  and 
or  these  may  not  man  be  taught  to  practise  prudence, 
sobriety,  and  economy,  and  become  the  possessor  of  a 
ife  policy  ?  What  a  crush  and  ruin  to  these  would 
t  not  save  !  What  oceans  of  lamentation  and  wail- 
Qg  would  give  place  to  their  rejoicing  and  perma- 
tent  joy  for  a  “  heritable  habitation,”  secured  to  them 
hrougli  this  institution  ! 

We  are  compelled  to  urge  female  influence  and 
agency  in  this  great  work  of  the  age,  and  ashamed 
o  confess  that  she  who  is  most  interested  has  hith- 
rto  done  nothing.  Nothing !  We  appeal  to  her  by 
-11  the  claims  of  virtue,  by  all  the  sufferings  of  hu- 
oanity,  to  delay  no  longer.  The  American  mind  is 
|  wakening  to  the  benign  influences  of  Life  Insurance, 
nd  needs  but  her  active  persuasions  to  melt  it  on 
his  subject  into  one  flow  of  emotion. 


2 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


14 


XII. 

CONSIDERATIONS. 

Life  Insurance  increases  l^he  happiness,  the  dignity, 
the  wisdom,  and  tli q  power  of  all  men. 

Happiness,  in  the  fact  that  life  and  health  are  often 
prolonged  by  being  provided  against  the  consequences 
of  death.  Unrestrained  freedom  to  the  mind  infuses 
vigor  and  spring,  which  lead  to  the  largest  intellec¬ 
tual  development. 

Dignity,  in  the  consciousness  that  the  whole  man  is 
ennobled,  in  the  proper  performance  of  a  duty,  which  i 
he  covenanted  before  God  when  he  assumed  the  ob- 
ligations  of  the  husband  and  father. 

Wisdom,  in  adopting  all  the  appliances  the  case 
may  demand,  whether  from  a  limited  or  extended  re¬ 
source,  looking  equally  to  the  future,  and  securing, 
beyond  all  possible  contingency,  not  only  alimony  I 
and  education  for  his  children,  but  position,  which 
always  follows  virtuous  exertion. 

And,  lastly,  Power,  which  as  naturally  succeeds  to; 
man’s  influence,  when  he  feels  the  responsibility  of; 
moral  obligation,  and  will  not  neglect  it,  as  that  the! 
earth  turns  upon  its  axis,  or  water  seeks  its  level. 

Other  property  may  be  subject  to  incumbrance,  and 
the  widow  and  orphan  find  their  expectations  giving 
place  to  the  creditor.  But  to  the  honor  of  the  Legis- 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


15 


lature  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  a  few  other 
States  of  this  Union,  be  it  said,  a  life  policy  in  a  re¬ 
sponsible  Company  is  raised  above  all  doubt  and 
cavil ;  and  under  all  circumstances  or  conditions,  its 
benefits  instantly  inure  to  the  family  of  the  deceased, 
without  any  legal  formality,  but  the  testimony  which 
shows  the  policy  to  be  effective.  By  this  wise  legisla¬ 
tion  a  sufficient  amount  is  guarantied,  against  all  the 
claims  of  a  creditor,  to  insure  to  the  wife  the  privilege 
of  a  life  policy  upon  her  husband.  Does  she  object 
that  it  becomes  available  by  his  death  ?  Then  she 
should  object  to  any  testamentary  devise.  By  his 
labor  or  earnings  he  reared  the  tenement  she  has  been 
left  to  occupy  ;  by  the  same  prudent  investment  of 
savings  or  earnings,  he  obtained  a  life  policy. 

Seeing  what  Life  Assurance  is  destined,  under  our 
free  institutions,  to  accomplish,  we  hold  it  up  to  the 
American  people  as  a  great  germ  of  civilization,  a 
great  sinew  of  education,  a  great  stimulant  to  exer¬ 
tion,  a  great  instrument  of  our  moral  elevation.  And 
man  should  leave  his  fellows,  and  seek  some  passive 
Hindoo  or  stupid  Hottentot  tribe,  if  in  view  of  all 
his  obligations,  he  wilfully  shuts  out  the  light,  that, 
like  a  Roman  emperor,  he  may  think  he  thus  shuts 
out  justice. 

How  many  now,  occupants  of  our  almshouses, 
houses  of  refuge,  asylums  of  the  indigent,  and  other 
humane  and  charitable  institutions  of  the  age,  might 


16  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

have  been  useful  and  influential  members  of  society, 
had  their  fathers,  their  husbands,  and  their  brothers 
saved  them  this  degradation,  by  the  avails  of  a  life 
policy  !  If  the  annunciation  were  made  to-day,  “  Ihou 
shalt  die,  and  not  live  !”  how  many  of  our  business 
men,  living  in  affluence,  would  not  feel  the  immense 
importance  of  a  life  policy  to  their  families !  How 
many  families,  trusting  to  their  fathers  solicitude  and 
care,  and  perhaps  thinking  he  needs  no  life  policy, 
would  find  themselves  without  money,  in  all  the  afflic¬ 
tions  of  poverty ! 

In  all  good  resolves,  the  purpose  formed  should  be 
the  plan  executed.  In  Life  Insurance  it  is  an  impera¬ 
tive  duty.  Decision,  resolution,  energy,  action,  would 
have  brought  hosts  into  the  ranks  of  the  assiued,  and 
saved  the  crush  and  ruin  to  an  infinite  number  in  our 
land,  which  its  absence  has  ruined  forever. 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


17 


XIII. 

FINANCIAL  VIEW  OF  THE  NEW  YOF.K  ,MUTTJAI,  ,LXFF 
INSURANCE  COvIPA^NY.  '  *  ' 

-1  B  )  »  n  ’  1  ,  O  V  C  I 

Financial 

Header,  reflect  that  youj  Who  ire®  expending  $o6'0*, 
$1000,  or  $2000  per  annum,  are  afe^drang'  ad  inter¬ 
est  upon  the  respective  sums  of °  $7000,’  $15, *000,  oV 
$30,000,  as  the  case  may  be.  Then  would  it  not  be 
wise  to  secure  against  all  doubt  at  least  a  portion  of 
this  income  to  those  for  whom  you  are  bound  to  pro¬ 
vide,  when  you  are  taken  away  ?  A  life  policy  in  this 
Company  wdll  attain  the  end — other  trusts  may  fail. 
“  I  cannot  afford  it”  is  your  reply.  Then  if  you  are 
unable  with  your  present  income  to  make  such  pro¬ 
vision ,  how  will  your  wife  and  children  endure  the 
double  bereavement  uithout  you ,  and  without  your 
income  ?  At  the  cost  of  present  self-denial,  is  it  not 
wise  to  obtain  a  life  policy  for  even  a  small  amount  ? 

Cost  of  securing  a  Home. 

A  friend  guarantees  to  you  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  a  dwelling  for  your  family,  at  your  decease,  worth 
$5000,  upon  the  payment  of  $25  quarterly,  or  $100 
per  annum,  and  not  only  so,  but  that  probably  a  large 
share  of  each  of  these  annual  payments  may  be  added 


2* 


18  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

in  the  way  of  accumulation  :  can  you  hesitate  to  ac¬ 
cept  such  an  offer  ?  This  reliable  Life  Insurance 
Company  make  just  such  a  one. 

1  ,  -  4  i  <r  *  i  < 

^  o  (  '.»  ,  €  r  f  «,  f-  <*  <-  r 

From  whtrkcv  do  your  profits  arise? 

Luring  the  past-  sunimer  some  life-policyholders 
h^ve^hadaseyenty  per  £ent.  returned  to  them  of  all  the 
ptealmiUis  pAi/i,  for  eight  or  ten  years,  besides  the  ori¬ 
ginal  amount  of  policy.  Of  14,000  policies  issued, 
upwards  of  8000  only  are  running.  The  forfeited, 
cancelled,  surrendered,  or  expired,  amounting  to  hun¬ 
dreds  of  thousands  of  dollars,  are  no  longer  a  claim 
against  the  Company.  Like  the  receipts  of  a  marine 
company,  the  safe  arrival  terminates  the  hazard. 
While  the  premiums  to  those  who  continue  their  pol¬ 
icies  may  be  so  extended,  that  $30  or  even  $90  may 
finally  be  returned  to  the  family  of  the  insurer  for 
every  $100  he  shall  have  paid,  besides  the  amount  of 
policy.  This  refutes  the  delusion  that  the  insurer  re¬ 
ceives  only  what  he  paid.  As  confirmatory,  N.  B. 
Blunt,  Esq.,  late  District  Attorney  of  New  York,  paid 
this  Company  in  five  years  $732.50  in  premiums  ;  of 
this  amount  $459,  his  share  in  the  accumulations,  to¬ 
gether  with  the  $5000,  the  amount  of  policy,  was  paid 
to  his  family. 

An  importer,  located  in  Beaver-street,  in  the  City 
of  New  York,  doing  a  large  and  prosperous  business, 


LIFE  INSURANCE.  19 


took  out  a  policy  in  this  Company,  Aug.  15th,  1844, 
for  $10,000  ;  paid  nine  premiums  of  $264  cash,  ma¬ 
king  $2376.  Death  occurred  May,  1854.  The  widow 
received  the  amount  of  the  policy,  $10,000,  with  re¬ 
turned  dividends,  $1583.96,  making  $11,683.96.  This 
was  all  that  remained  for  the  widow. 

Thus  it  is  shown  that  nearly  $700,  secured  the 
family  not  only  the  policy  of  $10,000,  but  $1700 
was  returned  as  the  profit  arising  from  proper  and 
judicious  investment,  out  of  the  $2400  which  had 
been  paid  in  premiums. 

Are  estates  always  well  settled  ? 

There  may  be  circumstances  in  the  case  of  the  most 
discreet  merchant  or  mechanic,  which  will  exhibit  a 
degree  of  indebtedness  beyond  assets.  A  life  policy 
provides  for  such  cases.  A  prominent  merchant  of 
this  city,  acting  as  executor  to  an  estate  worth  $60,000, 
assures  us  that  the  condition  of  the  property  was  such 
that  enough  was  not  available  for  the  current  ex¬ 
penses  of  the  family.  Thus  are  sacrifices  often  made 
of  the  hard  earnings  of  the  deceased,  when  a  life 
policy  of  insurance  would  have  given  time  and  op¬ 
portunity  to  the  executor  to  have  made  a  better  dis¬ 
posal  of  the  whole. 

A  mercantile  or  manufacturing  house  may  have 
stock  amounting  to  $500,000 — death  demands  a  set- 


20 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


tlement.  The  expense  in  collecting,  delay,  losses,  de¬ 
preciation  of  goods,  may  consume  $30,000  to  $50,000 
of  the  supposed  surplus.  Such  a  liability  is  common 
to  all  the  business  professions  of  life.  A  life  policy 
will  secure  to  the  family  some  portion  against  the 
power  of  bankruptcy. 

Many  refuse  to  invest  any  portion  of  their  funds  in 
a  Life  Insurance  policy  from  implicit  self-confidence, 
that  they  can  more  safely  appropriate  such  resources. 
Well-authenticated  facts  demonstrate  that  few  in  any 
rank  or  profession  leave  them  pecuniarily  unscathed  ; 
and  in  seven  out  of  ten  cases  settled  by  this  Compa¬ 
ny,  it  has  proved  a  far  safer  depository  and  a  more 
profitable  investment  than  that  made  by  any  other 
disposition  of  their  funds  whatsoever.  Thousands 
who  decide  to  put  out  small  sums  on  bond  and  mort¬ 
gage  fail  to  do  so.  This  Company  promises  to  do 
this  for  you,  and  will  perform  it.  They  carefully  in¬ 
vest  these  small  amounts,  paid  by  each  insurer,  with  | 
interest  upon  interest,  and  return  to  you  what  propor¬ 
tion  is  thus  accumulated,  besides  the  amount  actually 
insured,  whether  it  be  $1000  or  $10,000. 

In  a  transaction  which  is  to  guard  the  welfare  of 
others,  and  thus  insure  against  the  consequences  of 
death,  the  first  inquiry  should  be,  “  Is  it  a  safe  Com¬ 
pany  ?”  The  New  York  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Com¬ 
pany  is  believed  to  be  impregnable.  It  receives  its 
premiums  only  in  cash,  and  invests  it  more  securely 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


21 


,han  could  be  done  by  the  fee-simple  purchase  of  real 
estate  in  New  York,  as  this  might  depreciate  in 
^alue,  whilst  a  loan  thereon,  at  half  its  value,  with 
i  mortgage,  a  responsible  bondsman,  and  a  fire  pol- 
cy,  superadded,  all  made  payable  to  the  Company, 
.aggregating  the  security  to  three  times  the  amount 
)f  loan,  places  the  contingency  of  loss  beyond  pos¬ 
sibility.  Such  security  this  Company  possesses  for 
:hree  millions  of  dollars  ;  and  for  this  amount  in- 
rested,  the  real  estate  is  worth  six  and  a  half  mil¬ 
lions,  the  amount  of  fire  policies  over  two  millions 
more ;  making  a  total  of  direct  and  indirect  sureties 
nine  millions  of  dollars.  Then  the  large  current 
receipts  annually  of  half  a  million  of  dollars,  the  in¬ 
terest  at  seven  per  cent.,  payable  quarterly  or  semi¬ 
annually,  thus  compounding  interest  on  interest,  in 
rates  doubling  those  of  any  European  or  foreign  in¬ 
vestment,  furnish  an  instance  of  financial  skill  in  the 
conduct  and  management  of  this  Company,  surpassing 
any  other  of  which  we  have  knowledge. 

A  holder  of  one  of  the  earliest  and  oldest  policies 
of  this  Company,  speaking  of  its  incorruptible  char¬ 
acter,  says  :  “  While  banks  and  other  moneyed  cor¬ 
porations  are  subject  to  peculations,  the  funds  of  this 
Company  are  so  invested  that  no  bond  or  mortgage 
can  be  foreclosed  without  public  advertisement,  and 
its  officers  and  trustees  are  gentlemen,  many  of  whom 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  have  attained 


22  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

an  eminent  standing  for  irreproachable  integrity  and 
exalted  worth,  and  are  themselves  interested  as  policy 
holders,  directly  and  indirectly,  for  more  than  a  mil¬ 
lion  of  dollars,  and  many  of  whom,  by  years  of  unre- 
mitted  and  unrequited  labor,  have  proved  themselves 
the  true  and  tried  friends  of  this  institution. 


XIV. 

EDUCATIONAL  VIEW. 

Education  is  the  problem  which  must  work  out  our 
national  destiny.  To  facilitate  and  diffuse  it,  moneyed 
ability  is  needed.  How  can  it  be  securely  provided 
for  the  family  ?  We  answer,  by  the  provision  of  a 
life  policy  of  insurance. 

A  life  policy  of  insurance  is  at  once  capital,  safely 
and  profitably  invested ;  so  that,  in  its  possession, 
moneyed  ability  is  furnished  for  the  future  exigence  of 
the  family  of  every  citizen  of  the  country  who  may 
embrace  its  benefits  ;  securing  his  offspring  not  only 
against  the  concomitants  of  poverty,  but  also  such 
educational  advantages  as  shall  incite  to  virtuous  aspi¬ 
rings  and  lofty  ambition. 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


23 


XV. 

CHURCH  INFLUENCE. 

The  confessions  of  human  inability  to  rise  superior 
to  the  circumstances  which  surround  it,  has  been 
made  by  the  eminently  pious  of  all  ages  and  climes. 
No  minister  of  our  holy  religion  can  be  disregardful 
of  those  events  which  forebode  future  calamity  to  his 
family,  no  matter  how  fervent  his  piety  or  how  splen¬ 
did  his  talents  or  attainments.  Hence,  for  the  pro¬ 
motion  of  truth,  and  the  facility  for  presenting  it  with 
attractiveness  and  power,  it  is  eminently  essential  that 
this,  above  all  professions,  should  be  placed  above 
worldly  anxiety.  A  life  policy  is  the  desideratum  ; 
and  we  suggest  that,  in  behalf  of  that  spiritual  mis¬ 
sion,  for  which  the  gospel  ministry  is  sent,  that  they, 
in  their  holy  vocation,  should  exhort  and  encourage 
this  work,  so  necessary  for  them  and  so  valuable  for 
others. 

What  might  not  be  achieved  for  this  cause  by  the 
proper  organization  of  societies  in  the  respective  con¬ 
gregations  through  the  land,  having  their  design,  first, 
to  secure  this  end  to  their  pastors,  and,  secondly,  to 
promote  its  universal  acceptance  amongst  all  the  mem¬ 
bers. 

The  Christian’s  anxiety  for  worldly  things  is  the 
great  adversary  of  spiritual  progress.  Remove  this 


24 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


solicitude,  and  the  great  desire  for  wealth  will  be 
taken  away,  and  the  passion  for  Mammon  will  die. 

During  the  twelve  years  of  the  existence  of  this 
Company  it  has  paid  out  to  its  beneficiaries  over 
one  million  and  a  half  of  dollars  !  Among  its  re¬ 
cipients  are  citizens  of  every  occupation  and  rank  of 
life,  scattered  over  every  part  of  our  wide  domain. 
Prominent  among  those  more  widely  known  may  be 
mentioned  Major-General  Worth,  the  hero  of  Mon¬ 
terey,  the  “  bravest  of  the  brave.”  After  passing 
unscathed  through  many  a  bloody  field,  he  died  of 
cholera,  in  Texas,  7th  May,  1849.  But  for  a  life  poL  j 
icy  secured  in  this  Company,  but  little  would  have 
remained  for  his  family  beyond  the  fame  his  deeds 
had  won. 

In  this  connection  we  can  refer  to  the  names  of 
Col.  Roger  Sherman  Dix  and  Col.  George  Croghan, 
of  the  U.  S.  Army  ;  Com.  Renshaw,  of  the  U.  S. 
Navy  ;  Dr.  Granville  Sharp  Pattison,  the  distinguish¬ 
ed  Professor  of  Anatomy  in  the  University  of  New 
York  ;  Dr.  John  Kearney  Rodgers,  the  eminent  sur-  I 
geon  of  New  York;  George  W.  Gedney,  Esq.,  who 
was  accidentally  shot  during  the  Astor  Opera-House  1 
riots,  while  leaving  the  cars  for  his  residence  in  the 
vicinity  ;  N.  Bowditch  Blunt,  Esq.,  our  late  popular  i 
District  Attorney;  and  Morris  Robinson,  Esq.,  the 
first  President  of  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company, 
who,  showing  his  faith  by  his  works,  insured  his  life 


LIFE  INSURANCE.  25 

n  the  Company,  whose  success  he  had  so  much  at 
leart :  his  family  are  now  the  recipients  of  its  bounty. 
3ut  it  is  useless  to  multiply  instances  showing  the 
>eneficial  effects  of  Life  Insurance ;  they  are  scattered 
>roadcast  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land, 
udge  ye  for  yourselves. 


XVI. 

FURTHER  EXAMPLES. 

Capt.  Harrington,  of  the  Charles  Belcher,  at  New 
Orleans,  made  his  last  voyage  to  St.  Louis,  in  1853. 
le  announced  to  the  crew  that  he  held  a  policy  of 
>5000  on  his  life,  and  urged  its  claims  upon  their  ac- 
eptance.  He  soon  unexpectedly  found  a  watery 
jrave.  Mrs.  H.  in  due  time  received  from  our  office 
he  amount  of  this  policy,  the  most  undoubted  evi- 
ience  he  had  given  of  his  love,  to  shield  her  in  the 
larkest  period  of  her  history. 

The  congregation  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Adams,  of  Syra- 
use,  N.  Y.,  presented  him  with  a  life  policy  of  insu- 
ance  in  this  company  for  $2500,  in  lieu  of  some 
rivolous  New-Year  presents.  Before  the  year  ended, 
he  policy  had  become  available,  and  was  paid  to  the 
vidow. 

A  gentleman  of  unquestioned  piety  in  one  of  our 
3 


26  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

southern  cities,  speaks  of  his  extraordinary  tranquil- 
lity  of  mind,  during  a  severe  and  protracted  disease,  | 
in  which  all  hope  of  recovery  had  been  abandoned 
by  his  friends.  When  unexpectedly  restored,  he  at-  j 
tributed  this  serenity  to  an  entire  absorption  in  the  i 
Divine  will.  “My  wife  was  protected  by  a  life  policy jt 
of  insurance  ;  and  I  felt  I  had  nothing  to  do  but  to 
die.”  To  this  tranquillity  of  mind  may  be  ascribed 
his  recovery.  Reader,  have  recourse  to  it,  to  meets 
you  in  the  troubles  of  life  ! 

The  subject  of  Life  Insurance  was  earnestly  pre¬ 
sented  at  the  house  of  T.  G.  &  Co.,  of  Pine-street, 
New  York  city.  The  principal  clerk,  Mr.  W.,  re-| 
marked,  “  It  is  a  good  work  :  I  will  consider,  andi 
some  day  embrace  it.”  But  a  week  had  passed  be¬ 
fore  he  had  gone  to  that  bourne  from  which  no 
traveller  returns.  The  family  were  left  without  pe¬ 
cuniary  protection  against  the  stern  realities  of  life. 

A  merchant  of  New  England,  convinced  of  the  ne¬ 
cessity  of  Life  Insurance,  deferred  the  application  from 
pressure  of  time,  but  resolved  shortly  to  apply  for  a 
policy  of  $5000.  A  fishing  excursion  led  him  from 
home,  to  which  he  never  returned — a  sunbeam  extin¬ 
guished  life  ! 

A  druggist  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  declined  under  the 
idea  that  early  life  and  fulness  of  health  left  no  ne¬ 
cessity  for  immediate  action,  and  soon,  too,  he  was 
numbered  with  the  dead. 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


27 


Mr.  H.,  of  the  town  of  Hannibal,  Mo.,  immersed 
in  successful  business  enterprises,  was  advised  to  take 
out  a  policy  of  $5000  to  meet  any  mutation  which 
might  possibly  occur.  He  died  soon  after  doing  so, 
and  an  insolvent  estate  soon  showed  that  this  policy 
alone  remained  for  the  widow.  Mrs.  H.  was  asked 
how  Life  Insurance  seemed  to  her.  u  The  most  impor¬ 
tant  object  of  a  worldly  character,”  said  she.  “This 
amount  has  been  safely  invested  ;  it  has  saved  me 
and  my  children  :  by  economy  and  carefulness  they 
have  been  educated,  and  the  interest  now  gives  us 
comparative  independence. 

Oliver  L.,  of  Evansville,  Indiana,  was  induced  to 
make  application  for  a  life  policy  in  this  Company. 
“I  am  in  fine  health,  however,  and  not  goingto  die,” 
said  he.  Before  the  writer  reached  New  York,  his 
death  was  announced  from  typhus  fever;  and  the 
policy  was  paid  within  sixty  days  from  the  interview. 

Facts  demonstrate  that  not  five  in  one  hundred 
business  men  ever  reach  the  goal  of  their  pursuit  in 
the  United  States.  In  this  institution  not  one  ever 
failed  to  secure  the  desired  object  who  paid  the  pre¬ 
mium. 

A  gentleman  of  great  legal  ability  and  reputation, 
expressed  amazement  that  so  few  of  his  profession  had 
looked  into  this  great  scheme  of  philanthropy.  “  I 
have,”  said  he,  u  insured  my  life,  because  I  consider 
it  the  only  real  safe  source  of  investment  known 


28  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

among  men.  All  other  species  of  property  may  feel 
the  caprice  of  fortune,  or  the  mutations  of  time.  But 
i  where  the  State  law  is  clear,  as  in  New  York,  no  mis¬ 
take  can  possibly  arise  ;  and  with  my  faith  in  the 
moneyed  power  and  the  incorruptible  character  of  the 
Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  of  New  York,  I  shall 
leave  that  institution  as  guardian  to  my  orphan  chil¬ 
dren,  to  pay  out  of  my  policy,  when  death  makes  it 
effectual,  an  annuity  for  their  education  and  alimony, 
preferring  it  as  a  depository  of  money  to  all  other  in¬ 
stitutions  ever  devised.” 

A  shipbuilder  in  the  commercial  metropolis  of  our 
country,  reflecting  upon  the  marine  disasters  of  the 
past  year,  became  sensible  that  something  was  needed 
more  sure  than  that  offered  by  a  marine  or  fire  insu¬ 
rance  company  to  provide  for  a  future  which  might 
be  near  at  hand.  His  ships  had  all  been  fully  in¬ 
sured,  but  the  insurers  had  not  all  met  their  liabilities. 
Others  floating  upon  oceans  and  lakes  had  been  sold 
upon  a  credit  equally  hazardous.  “  I  am  a  father,” 
said  he  :  “  shall  I  leave  my  offspring  to  the  sport  of 
the  winds  and  the  waves  ?  I  may  give  them  much, 
I  will  insure  them  a  little  ;  I  will  secure  them  against 
want.”  An  application  for  a  life  policy  of  $5000  was 
effected,  and  soon  met  the  case  for  which  it  was  pro¬ 
vided.  Fancied  security  is  often  present  danger. 

Two  eminently  respectable  Germans,  brothers,  on 
making  this  the  country  of  their  adoption,  sought  a 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


29 


permanent  home.  The  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Com¬ 
pany  of  New  York  attracted  their  attention,  and  each 
at  once  became  a  policy-holder  for  $1000.  Accident 
causing  injury,  and  resulting  in  the  death  of  one, 
placed  the  other  in  possession  of  a  home,  to  which 
other  members  of  his  family  have  been  invited  to  re¬ 
sort  ;  and  which,  from  due  attention  to  business,  and 
his  own  life  protected,  he  has  no  difficulty  to  pre¬ 
serve. 

An  operative  in  one  of  our  large  manufactories 
was  warned  by  an  accident  from  the  breaking  of  ma¬ 
chinery,  to  think  of  the  momentary  dangers  belonging 
to  this  avocation  in  life.  He  remarked  to  his  wife  on 
her  utter  helplessness,  afflicted  as  she  was  by  disease, 
in  the  event  of  her  protector  being  thus  snatched  away, 
“  I  spend  fifty  cents  per  week  for  tobacco ;  with  that 
I  will  cheerfully  dispense,  to  save  myself  the  constant 
anxiety  I  have,  fearing  you  and  my  children  may  be 
thrown  upon  public  charity.”  After  jointly  determin¬ 
ing  to  observe  a  more  rigid  economy,  a  life  policy  was 
effected  for  the  annual  sum  that  $50,  paid  in  quarterly 
instalments,  would  purchase. 

The  revulsions  in  the  financial  and  commercial 
world  during  the  past  year,  have  caused  increased  dil¬ 
igence  and  a  thoughtful  forecast,  which  has  not  hith¬ 
erto  been  seen  in  this  country. 

A  merchant  in  New  England,  prominent  in  the  com¬ 
mercial  world,  in  devising  by  will  a  life  policy,  made 


3* 


30  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

this  remark:  “In  justice  to  my  family,  I  ten  years 
ago  insured  my  life.  In  justice  to  my  creditors,  I 
have  since  increased  its  amount.  Its  value  is  now 
such  as  to  remove  all  anxiety  for  the  one  or  the  other. 
My  creditor  shall  not  jeopard  his  property  on  the  con¬ 
tingency  of  human  life,  when  it  is  so  easy  to  render 
him  secure  by  an  insurance  policy  on  my  life.  My  fam¬ 
ily  shall  not  be  trusted  to  the  precarious  nature  of  my 
business  fortune,  when  the  payment  of  a  small  por¬ 
tion  of  my  annual  receipts  can  secure  them  independ- 
ence.”  How  many  merchants  have  such  a  will  pro¬ 
vided  ?  Have  you  ? 

He  who  has  not  embraced  Life  Insurance  has  a  de¬ 
gree  to  win  in  the  elevation  of  mind.  A  young  man 
in  New  York  city  who  had  risen  to  high  intellectual 
promise,  and  had  become  the  idol  and  support  of  a 
widowed  mother  and  sister,  was  suddenly  removed  by 
typhoid  fever.  They  thought  they  saw  in  his  de¬ 
parture  dependence,  privation,  and  want,  when  an 
examination  in  his  cabinet-drawer  made  the  discovery 
of  a  policy  of  $5000  on  his  life  in  full  force.  Verily 
this  young  man  had  taken  the  highest  degree  in  life ! 

“  Are  you  insured  ?”  said  an  intelligent  advocate  of 
this  humane  system  to  a  retail  merchant  in  Pennsyl¬ 
vania.  “  I  am  not ;  but  my  assets  exceed  my  liabili¬ 
ties.  I  have  little  to  fear  in  a  pecuniary  revulsion.,, 
Death  ensued ;  these  assets  did  not  realize  fifty  per 
cent. — no  life  policy  was  found  to  make  up  the  defi- 


LIFE  INSURANCE.  31 


\  ciency.  The  family  resort  to  the  humblest  occupa¬ 
tions  of  life  for  their  daily  bread. 

Rev.  Mr. - of  the  South  insured  his  own  life  for 

$3000.  His  declining  health  unfitted  him  for  the 
sacred  duties  of  his  vocation,  and  obliged  him  to  leave 
his  charge.  The  means  of  continuing  the  premium 
ended.  His  sorrowing  congregation  thought  nothing 
of  this,  until  the  annunciation  of  his  premature  death, 
and  the  destitution  of  his  family,  reminded  them  what 
might  have  been  done.  Christians  !  if  you  love  your 
Master  above,  provide  for  his  messengers,  as  he  sends 
them  to  you,  below. 

A  person  employed  in  a  piano  manufactory  on 
Broadway,  Hew  York,  had  been,  through  the  persua¬ 
sions  of  a  friend  in  Brooklyn,  induced  to  make  appli¬ 
cation  for  a  life  policy.  “  I  have  decided  to  perfect 
it,”  said  he  to  his  friend,  “  but  having  bought  a  piano 
for  my  wife,  that  has  first  to  be  paid  for ;  then  I  will 
secure  my  policy.”  He  died  within  one  month  after 
this  conversation.  The  piano  has  been  paid  for,  but 
the  life  policy  was  thus  lost  forever. 

Where  ignorance  is  most  profound,  there  dogma¬ 
tism  is  most  presumptuous.  “  I  wish  to  have  my  life 
insured  in  your  Company,”  said  a  gentleman  to  the 
General  Agent  in  a  city  of  Louisiana,  “  but  my  wife 
interposes,  and  I  cannot  satisfy  her  of  its  propriety. 
Will  you  converse  with  her?”  Its  tendency  to  pro¬ 
long  life  at  once  arrested  her  attention  ;  and  when  its 


32 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


various  advantages  had  been  fully  explained,  “  Doc¬ 
tor,”  said  she  to  her  husband,  “  I  am  no  longer  op¬ 
posed;  take  out  a  policy  on  your  life,  but  go  the 
whole  figure — nothing  less  than  $10,000  !” 

Application  for  a  policy  in  behalf  of  the  wife  was 
made  by  a  gentleman  who  had  wasted  the  fortune  of 
one  of  the  most  gifted  ladies  of  the  country.  His 
habits  rendered  the  application  nugatory.  When  this 
last  hope  for  herself  and  children  failed,  and  she  saw 
the  desolation  of  poverty  before  her,  her  imagination 
painted  it  in  such  colors  as  to  consign  her  to  an  in¬ 
sane  asylum. 

A  lady,  unacquainted  with  the  system,  induced  her 
husband  to  take  a  policy  for  a  term  of  years — she 
objected  to  insuring  his  life  for  the  full  continuance  of 
it.  The  period  has  now  expired,  and  disease  prevents 
its  renewal  and  extension.  To  our  misguided  friend 
we  can  only  say,  insure  now  your  own  life,  that  the 
objects  of  your  maternal  love  shall  not  be  wholly 
unprotected. 


XVII. 

FACTS  AND  RESULTS. 

Policy  243  was  held  by  a  medical  gentleman  for 
$1000.  He  made  four  payments  of  $25.70  each.  It 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


33 


had  been  issued  in  favor  of  his  wife  :  her  death  oc¬ 
curred  before  his  own,  and  the  amount  was  paid  to 
the  guardian,  who  from  its  proceeds  is  now  educating 
his  little  orphans  of  9  and  11  years  of  age. 

Policies  2085  and  2086,  for  $500  each,  became  avail¬ 
able  by  the  death  of  the  holder  the  same  year  of  their 
issue,  and  thus  $18.60  secured  $1000  to  the  widow. 

Policy  1197  was  issued  to  a  creditor  in  New  York  up¬ 
on  a  debtor  in  the  West.  Two  payments  of  $17.50  were 
made,  when  death  secured  the  hopeless  debt  of  $700.  # 

Policy  1799  was  held  for  $1000.  The  holder  in¬ 
quired  when  his  next  payment  was  due,  and  was  in¬ 
formed,  two  weeks  hence.  “  I  find  from  my  pecuniary 
affairs  I  can  enlarge  that  policy  to  $1000.’’  “  Better 

make  application  to-day.”  “  No  ;  there  will  be  time 
enough.”  In  forty-eight  hours  he  was  a  dead  man  ! 
The  widow  received  the  value  of  the  existing  policy 
the  day  the  premium  would  have  been  due. 

Policy  7302  was  issued  in  August — a  quarterly 
payment  of  $12.10  was  made :  death  ensued  in  No¬ 
vember.  From  the  proceeds  of  this  policy  a  com¬ 
fortable  dwelling  for  the  widow  is  purchased,  and  she 
has  secured  a  policy  on  her  own  life  for  the  benefit  of 
her  children.  Should  not  this  Christian  system  be 
sustained  by  the  inspiration  of  woman’s  genius  and 
the  generous  purity  of  her  affections  ? 

A  volume  might  be  filled  with  similar  examples  in 
this  Company,  but  we  pause. 


34 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


CONCLUSION 

Nature  imprints  the  only  indelible  character,  and 
nature  has  never  bestowed  vested  rights  in  wealth, 
title,  or  nobility.  Life  Insurance  fits  man  to  brave 
the  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  and  triumphs  over  them. 
It  takes  away  the  necessity  of  adventitious  aid,  and 
often  saves  him  from  annihilation. 

Its  general  acceptance  would  secure  general  educa¬ 
tion  and  freedom  of  thought,  inspire  vigorous  exertion 
and  self-reliance,  and  that  thorough  sense  of  individ¬ 
ual  responsibility,  which  gives  elasticity  and  caution 
in  every  path  of  life. 

The  pedestal  is  no  more  included  in  the  measure  of 
the  statue,  than  is  fortune  in  the  real  worth  of  the  man. 
When  dependence  weighs  upon  the  spirit,  the  weal 
of  the  whole  man  is  endangered.  This  is  evidenced 
in  its  operation  upon  the  noblest  minds  of  statesmen 
and  rulers  in  our  own  and  other  lands.  Even  Pitt,  in 
the  palmiest  days  of  his  influence,  was  not  insensible 
to  this  embarrassment  on  finding  an  officer  ready  to 
lay  hands  on  him  for  debt,  whilst  he  was  officially 
dining  the  highest  dignitaries  of  the  English  nation. 

We  see  that  Powers,  the  prince  of  American  sculp¬ 
tors,  has  dignified  woman  by  making  her  the  repre¬ 
sentative  of  his  America.  What  sublimity  in  the 
thought  that  expressive  marble  conveys  !  With  up- 


LIFE  INSURANCE. 


35 


lifted  hand,  calm  determination,  and  unshaken  faith, 
she  saved  the  colony  of  Virginia,  and  by  the  same 
sacred  influences  she  becomes  the  hope  of  a  whole 
continent.  And  it  seems  now  to  be  the  high  destiny 
of  the  American  woman,  that  she  shall  not  disappoint, 
or  be  herself  disappointed,  in  that  hope  which  she  in¬ 
spires,  that  she,  whether  in  the  capacity  of  wife,  sister, 
or  daughter,  should  give  her  active  influence  in  diffu¬ 
sing  the  blessings  of  Life  Insurance  to  every  rank  and 
condition  of  our  people.  Plead,  ye-  fair  countrywo¬ 
men,  with  your  natural  protectors  and  guardians,  upon 
this  momentous  subject. 

There  is  not  a  husband  who  would  not  listen  to  the 
entreaty  of  the  wife,  who  has  been  the  companion  of 
his  youth,  in  behalf  of  such  a  cause  ;  there  is  not  a 
father  who  would  not  thrill  with  emotion  at  the  sug¬ 
gestion  of  his  daughter,  who  by  labor  and  sacrifice 
he  had  made  accomplished  and  happy,  when  loving 
and  honoring  him  for  all,  she  reminds  him  of  what 
she  might  be  called  to  suffer  when  the  strong  arm  of 
his  protection  should  be  irrevocably  taken  away  ;  not 
a  brother,  who  has  the  right  estimate  of  woman,  who 
would  not  sooner  abridge  the  superfluities  of  his  pres¬ 
ent  expenses,  than  trust  his  defenceless  sister,  or  per¬ 
haps  his  unprotected  mother,  to  all  the  chances  of  ca¬ 
price  or  misfortune. 

Fathers,  husbands,  and  brothers !  will  you  not 
hearken?  Young  man,  consider  the  magnitude  of 


36  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

your  position,  and  maintain  it  by  adopting  the  salu¬ 
tary  advantages  which,  directly  and  remotely,  arise 
from  the  possession  of  a  life  policy. 

Let  this  tree  of  independence  once  take  root  in  our 
soil,  and  its  branches  will  soon  extend  to  the  remotest 
borders  of  our  limits,  its  fruit  will  be  present  reward, 
and  posterity  will  cherish  and  extend  it  for  centuries 
to  come. 


